OCMG chapter 4

“… Excuse me?”

“You asked me to state my preferences.”

Unconsciously, Junhee shifted his legs under the table, like a small animal caught in a snare.

“A recessive Omega, you said?”

Junhee hoped that his ears had somehow misheard.

“You keep asking again.”

Ki Taeryu’s long fingers tapped lightly on the table. Junhee’s eyes were drawn to the motion.

“You look young, but is your hearing going bad?”

“… I’m old enough. I just wanted to confirm since it’s the opposite of what most clients usually ask for.”

“So, is it impossible?”

The disdainful look, as if the other was beneath him, made Junhee’s blood boil.

Fine, if that’s what he wanted.

“It’s possible. What are your other preferences?”

“Well, if they’re pretty, that’d be a plus.”

As soon as he spat that out, Ki Taeryu’s gaze lazily swept over Junhee’s face, sending chills down the back of his neck.

Perhaps the emotion Junhee was feeling now was close to stubborn defiance.

Did Ki Taeryu not know the social status of a ‘recessive Omega’? No, that couldn’t be.

A recessive Omega was not only highly likely to be born with congenital diseases and hereditary conditions, but also had weak physical strength and a very low chance of conception.

On top of that, they didn’t possess the stunning beauty or the strong pheromones that could drive an Alpha wild, like dominant Omegas did.

No wonder when matchmaking companies adjusted member rankings, they often assigned the lowest tier simply because someone was a ‘recessive Omega.’

Even a Beta, as common as they were, would often say during meetings, “A recessive Omega is just…”

Unless they had become successful against the odds or came from a good family background, recessive Omegas were not even accepted as members.

“A recessive Omega is…”

No different from an untouchable.

Even those who shouted for an ‘equal world without discrimination’ conveniently left out recessive Omegas.

“Wanting a recessive Omega to be your match?”

Though a wave of anger surged within him, a tiny thought nagged at Junhee—maybe there was a reason for such a request.

After closing the cap of his fountain pen, Junhee cautiously posed a question to Ki Taeryu.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask why you’re seeking such a partner?”

Ki Taeryu let out a small, sardonic laugh.

The twisted corner of his mouth was like a wedge firmly set against a neat wooden plank. His unusually low-chroma, nearly black pupils were chilling and unsettling.

As expected, he wasn’t going to answer. I hadn’t expected much from the start, so I wasn’t disappointed.

Junhee closed the prepared documents and started getting ready to leave.

“I’ll look for someone based on the conditions you mentioned. I’ll send you the recommended profiles via email first, and once you approve, we can arrange a meeting date…”

“Because it seems like it would be fun.”

“…Pardon?”

Junhee was taken aback by Ki Taeryu’s abrupt response and briefly tried to recall what he had asked.

…The reason Ki Taeryu wanted to meet an Omega.

The corner of the paper Junhee held crumpled in his hand.

The boss was wrong.

Ki Taeryu wasn’t even human.

“Wow, what a total scumbag.”

With a sharp burst of expletives, Junhee’s glass was refilled.

“Hyung, how did you end up entangled with such a lunatic? He’s not just any ordinary nutcase.”

Instead of answering, Junhee lifted his beer glass and downed it in one go. It was so cold and prickly that his throat nearly went numb.

He wasn’t usually one to drink much, but today felt like one of those nights where he couldn’t sleep without alcohol.

“Hyung, slow down. You’re not even good with alcohol.”

“You drink too.”

“To be honest, I’ve been on a bender with the guys from the student lounge for the past three days. I almost died.”

Junhee looked at Jin Siwon, who was pretending to vomit, and instead of insisting, he just refilled his own glass.

The truth was, he didn’t really need someone to drink with; he just wanted to vent somewhere, anywhere.

“Man, at this rate, you won’t be able to go to work tomorrow, Hyung.”

Despite pretending to be concerned, Siwon pushed a plate of snacks toward Junhee.

“How’s school life?”

“I’m not sure if the lectures are that interesting, but hanging out with the guys is fun. I’m glad I listened to you and went to college. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be stuck working in some live-in factory by now.”

Siwon’s face, now smiling, definitely looked more lively than before.

“…Yeah. It’s important to learn something. Especially for people like us who have nothing.”

“Wow, Hyung, you’ve turned into a total old man since I last saw you. I never thought I’d hear those words from you.”

“It’s been a while since we last met, and here I am spouting nonsense. Sorry.”

Without realizing it, the events of today had made him feel so disillusioned that he ended up talking like an old man.

“Oh, I was just kidding! Don’t worry about it. Anyway, I’ll start making money soon and pay back my tuition, Hyung. Just wait a bit. I’ll pay you back double!”

“Just make sure you attend your classes. Don’t skip them because you were drinking. Are Miyoung and the others doing well?”

“Yeah. I told them not to cause any trouble.”

“Good. Take care of them for me, will you?”

“If anyone heard you, they’d think you were the head of a family or something. Actually, now that I say it, it kind of makes sense?”

Junhee chuckled quietly at Siwon’s nonsense.

In truth, the two of them had a connection from their time at Hanbit Orphanage.

Due to various circumstances, they had lived apart from their parents from a very young age, residing with the other orphanage siblings.

The people they called Mom and Dad were the director and the deputy director.

“Anyway, you should call me more often. It’s nice to see you like this. Do you know how hard it is to drink with a fresh college student like me?”

“You haven’t changed, Jin Siwon.”

“No, seriously.”

Siwon pursed his lips and started passionately recounting how many people had chosen him at the group blind date.

Even though Siwon didn’t seem to have a shadow over his face, given that he grew up in an orphanage, Junhee knew that he, too, had his share of deep wounds.

“Oh, right, Hyung. Should I tell you this or not…”

“What is it? Spit it out.”

After scratching his head and hesitating, Siwon finally confessed.

“Mom said that woman came to the orphanage again looking for you.”

“…”

The once lively atmosphere instantly turned icy cold.

“She kept pleading, even after being told you left a long time ago, asking if they could at least give his your contact information…”

Before Siwon even finished his sentence, a burning thirst began to rise from within.

Junhee kept drinking without a word, but the frustration wouldn’t go away.

“That woman is so shameless, isn’t she? There’s a limit to how brazen someone can be.”

“So, you didn’t tell her, right?”

“Of course not! You made me promise so many times. I just kept insisting that I didn’t know anything after you left. Anyway… I just wanted to let you know. Are you okay, Hyung? Ah… Did I say too much again?”

Seeing Junhee’s reddened eyes, Siwon, slightly regretful, took his drink away.

“This isn’t good, Hyung. You should stop now. Your face is already red.”

“Give it back.”

“No way. You have work tomorrow, Hyung.”

“I said give it back, Jin Siwon.”

“Ah… damn it, I shouldn’t have said anything. Fine, you can have one more bottle, but that’s it. Just one more and then we’re heading home. Got it?”

Junhee silently opened another bottle.

These people aren’t even human. His insides burned as if bile was rising, and his throat felt parched.

For some reason, Ki Taeryu’s low voice suddenly echoed clearly in his mind.

“You look just like a dominant Omega.”

That bastard better trip and hit his nose on the way down and stub his toe on every doorstep.

Beep-beep-beep-beep-

6:50 AM. Junhee awoke to the sharp sound of his alarm. The only difference today was…

“Ugh.”

Unable to hold back the nausea, he rushed to the bathroom.

He lifted the toilet lid and vomited. Having drunk nothing but alcohol without any snacks, all that came up was water with a lingering scent of alcohol.

“Haa.”

Junhee sighed bitterly and splashed cold water on his face repeatedly. When he lifted his head, he saw his reflection in the mirror. His swollen eyes were dripping pathetic streams of water down his face.

It was the first time Junhee had drunk so much… no, the second time.

The first was when he turned 18 and was discharged from the orphanage as an independent child. He had drunk alone, holding a bankbook with 5 million won of settlement money.

Since then, he had never drunk enough to black out until now.

“I should’ve drunk less.”

Holding his still-dizzy head, he regretted it. There wasn’t much left to throw up, but his stomach still felt like it was ready to flip over again.

Junhee roughly wiped his wet face with a towel and went back to bed.

Beep-beep-beep-

The alarm was still ringing since he hadn’t had time to turn it off before running to the bathroom.

He picked up his phone to turn off the alarm, noticing a message notification at the top of the screen.

[Siwon: Hyung, I took down the taxi number]

[Siwon: You seemed really drunk, so text me when you get home!]

[Siwon: Are you asleep? Let me know when you wake up.]

He vaguely remembered arguing with Siwon about who would take a taxi first last night. But he had no memory of how he got out of the taxi or how he made it upstairs.

In any case, it was a relief that he made it home safely.

As he turned off his phone and started to prepare for work, he stepped on something underfoot.

“What now?”

When he looked down, he saw torn pieces of paper scattered all over the floor.

He knew one of his drunken habits was tearing up napkins on the table, but he didn’t expect he’d shred paper like this.

He hoped it wasn’t anything important. Curious about what he had shredded so thoroughly, he picked up a piece.

[Ki Taeryu]

By coincidence, the scrap he picked up had that name on it.

“…Of course.”

It was the business card. The one he received during the meeting with Ki Taeryu yesterday.

It was almost funny how much he had wanted to tear that person apart.

Swallowing a bitter smile, Junhee was just about to head back to the bathroom.

Suddenly, a strange sense of déjà vu hit him. At the same time, goosebumps rose on the back of his neck, making the fine hairs stand on end.

“……”

Slowly, Junhee turned and picked up his phone, which had been carelessly tossed on the bed. Tap, tap. His fingers trembled slightly as he pressed the screen, perhaps due to the lingering effects of alcohol.

│ ☎→(Outgoing) Chief Director Ki Taeryu │

│ 01:28 AM Call Duration: 03:18│

“Shit.”

Junhee had no idea. He couldn’t even begin to grasp just how screwed he was.